Hi,
Just another quick thanks for your continuing comments before I apologize again for posting a day late.
This section was very, very short but one of my great beta-readers made a suggestion for an addition -- thanks, Jenn.
I had to go off and write said addition and send it back to be edited, and that all took extra time.
I'm afraid this scene is still fairly short, but I'm hoping you'll believe that good things come in small bundles.
Yours Jenni
*****
Previously on My Wife The Boss:
As the door swung shut, Lois depressed the button. “OK, George, calm down. I'll have the figures to you by lunchtime.” She grimaced as she picked up her glasses and put them on. Though she'd learned to take the rough with the smooth, administration was the part of this job she least enjoyed.
Life for Lane and Kent was hectic, but they would always have time for each other, and their family.
Thankfully, Lois wasn't aware of Clark's thoughts as he walked back to his desk.
His lips compressed as he admitted to himself that he'd just lied to his wife. A little white lie, but a lie nonetheless. He did miss flying, but he also believed he'd be very mean-spirited not to value the gift he had been granted. A gift which was worth all his superpowers ... in any lifetime.
He had been given a second chance to love Lois Lane.
*****
continued ...
Clark parked the Jeep on the far side of the parking lot, looking around at the empty, sand-blown scene. If Sara had wanted privacy, she'd certainly picked the right place. At this time of year, dusk came early and there were only a couple other cars in the lot. At the end of the pier, he spotted two brave anglers, but, mostly, the buildings were closed and shuttered for winter, the wooden cafe in front of them tired and lonely under the heavy sky.
“You know, I was kinda hoping to grab a pizza or a burger. Are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asked his daughter, pulling her collar up and wrapping her scarf around her neck before they left the shelter of the vehicle.
“Dad, stop!” Sara batted his hands away, her voice a bit more petulant than usual as she headed toward the boardwalk. “I don't feel the cold as much as I used to. And besides, you said I could choose where we were going.” She glanced over her shoulder and shouted, “Come on!”
Clark thumbed the remote to lock the Jeep, wincing a little at the high-pitched beep. He quickened his step to follow his daughter, taking another appraising look at the lowering sky. Hopefully, the gusting wind would hold back the rain long enough that they would stay dry during their walk.
He shivered and did up the remaining buttons on his coat. His daughter might not feel the cold as much these days, but clearly, he did.
“Sara, wait! Of course it's your choice.” He caught up with his daughter, tentatively putting his arm around her shoulder, and relaxing when she didn't pull away. “I remember this used to be one of your favorite places. You always liked to be close to the ocean.” A small smile crossed his face. “But it was usually a little nicer out.”
“I like it in all weather,” his daughter informed him, staring out over the swelling water, where the waves crested like the stiff peaks of white frosting. “Did Mom put you up to this?” she asked flatly.
For a few seconds, Clark was tempted to tell another tiny fib, but Sara's placid nature aside, she was her mother's daughter, and she probably could tell when she was being lied to.
“Yes, she did, but today at work, and you know I suggested picking you up from school first thing this morning.” Clark hugged his daughter to his side. “Sara, I might just be learning how to be a father again, but I do know when you're hurting, especially when I'm part of the reason you're upset.”
Sara's voice was forlorn. “This isn't your fault, Dad.”
Clark bent his head toward his daughter, but could only see the top of her hat. “Isn't it?” he asked, his gaze gentle but somehow sorrowful. “You inherited these powers from me.”
His daughter shot him a look. “But you're not a klutz! I'm clumsy and I'm scared.” Sara poked herself in the chest with a touch of desperation. “I'm the one who can't control them.”
Pulling her closer, Clark kept his voice even. “But you will. Sweetheart ...”
“So, this is where I get the 'you'll learn to control the powers' speech?”
Clark laughed. “I'm that obvious, huh?”
“You and Mom! She told me all this last night, but I thought you might have something to say, too.” Sara's gaze swung back to the turbulent ocean. “What if I never learn ...”
“You will,” Clark repeated, halting their progress and turning his daughter to face him. “I know this might sound like an old cliché, but it's true. It happened to me, and I'm sure Matt had some challenges, too ...”
The chilly wind hurled a blast of sand up from the beach, interrupting Clark's words, and as the gust swirled around father and daughter, they huddled closer, sheltering from the needle-sharp sand.
“Sara, are you sure you wouldn't like to continue this conversation somewhere a little ... warmer?”
Surprisingly, she broke away from her father, taking off her hat and shaking her long, glossy hair into the wind, savoring the storm. “No, Dad. I want to stay. Let's walk ... please.”
She took Clark's hand and started pulling him along the boardwalk. He couldn't help but concede, while thinking she reminded him of a wild silkie from a Celtic legend, so unlike his customarily gentle daughter.
Yet, she looked wonderful, too. Perhaps one day in the future, when she'd learned how to control the powers she was afraid of right now, she would fly to the rescue ... fierce and full of fire ... a reincarnation of Ultrawoman ... though Clark suspected Vicky might have already laid claim to that title.
But for now, Clark had a job to do: Calming his daughter's fears.
“Sara, you do know it's not your fault you didn't get chosen to compete in this meet? And I'm not disappointed or upset. There will be lots of other occasions when I can see you compete ...”
“Not the way I'm performing right now. I doubt I'll ever be chosen again.” Her bitter laugh was swept away on the wind. “And before you tell me about you or Matt, I can't remember him giving up sports ... and you played football in college. I've seen the trophies!”
“Yes, in college, after I'd learned to control my strength. One time, when I played in high school, I dislocated Pete Ross' shoulder. It was an accident, but I was so scared of hurting anyone else again, I stopped playing for a year,” Clark reminisced quietly, while he released Sara's hand to link his arm through hers and draw her closer. “As for Matt -- I missed most of the years when his powers were developing, so I can't really comment, but I do know that he only plays soccer and basketball because he wants to fit in. He's not a serious competitor.” He shook his head, squeezing her arm gently. “Not like you.”
Sara sighed, starting to pick up the pace. “You mean the way I used to be.”
“Don't be so hard on yourself, sweetheart.” He smiled gently, his eyes filled with love as he fell into step beside her. “You know, you're so much like your mother ...”
“Not me!” She shot him an incredulous look. “You mean Matt ... or Vicky. Everyone tells me I take after you ... and I don't really mind that.”
Clark's eyes twinkled. “I'm glad you don't mind ... but there's more of your mom in you than you think.” He smiled at his oldest daughter. “You both push yourself to be the best, but sometimes, just trying to be the best is more than enough.”
Glancing around him at the stormy landscape, Clark wondered if he even had the right to resurrect tales of past heartaches, but there was some relevance, and Sara had probably heard this story anyway. “I don't want to discredit your grandfather, but when your mom was a kid he told her that ninety-eight points on a test left two points for improvement ...”
“Granddad did?” Sara asked, her brows shooting up in surprise, a characteristic reminiscent of her dad's.
Oh, great, Clark thought. She hadn't heard the story, and he couldn't help but feel a sudden pang of guilt. He made a silent apology to his father-in-law. “Yeah, but please don't judge him too harshly. When he realized he'd missed out on the best years of his daughters' lives because of his selfishness, he tried to make amends. Over the years, he became a pretty decent dad. Your mom forgave him,” he added, trying to coax a smile out of his daughter. “And you have to admit he's a great grandfather.”
“I guess so ... and I did know he and Mom didn't get along too well once upon a time. That must have been terrible for her.”
“It was,” he agreed, remembering how driven Lois had been in the early days. “And his attitude hurt your mom for longer than she would admit.” Clark stopped again to look his daughter directly in the eye. “But I'm not Sam, Sara. Heck, if any of you kids got anywhere close to ninety-eight on a test, I'd be over the moon. I'm proud of all of you ...”
“But, Dad, I didn't try!” There was a catch in Sara's voice as she interrupted her father, and she refused to meet his concerned gaze. “I didn't even concentrate. I was dropped because I hadn't put in the work ...”
“I know.”
“You do?” Sara ducked her head even further and her voice was small. “Oh, Daddy, I just wanted you to see me and be proud of what I could do ...”
Clark felt like crying for his daughter, but Sara needed his encouragement, not his sympathy. “But I am proud ... very proud. You missed out on your classes because of me. When I was sick, you spent time with me instead of going to the gym. Sweetheart, I think that makes you a very special person -- to sacrifice something you love for someone else.”
“No! It wasn't a sacrifice. I wanted to be with you. We all did.” Finally, Sara looked into her father's eyes. “We love you, Dad, and I'm not sorry for spending time with you ... but I'm Superman's daughter. I thought I'd be able to do that and still be good at sports! Matt could, and I'll bet you could too, before they stole your powers.”
“Maybe, but after years of experience.” Clark ran his finger gently down his daughter's cheek. “Sara, you've chosen a sport which requires lots of skill and poise ... and you're out there on your own. That's harder than anything Matt or I ever tried. And I know that in addition to trying to handle the powers, you're also trying very hard not to use them to your advantage. That's a tall order, and you have to give yourself a chance to adjust. Please don't do anything rash and give up on your dreams.”
An embarrassed flush colored Sara's cheeks, already tinged pink by the wind. “I hadn't really thought about giving up completely, Dad.”
“Good!” Clark hugged Sara to his side. “To tell the truth, I never thought you would. Lane women never give up -- it's a family trait.”
“I thought that was a Kent family trait?” Sara's voice seemed less somber. “I'm sure Grandma Martha never gave up on anything ...”
“No, she didn't!” Clark chuckled fondly, thinking of his mother. “Even now, she's still a force to be reckoned with.” The sun was sinking on the far horizon, yet the odd streak of gold still reflected on the black clouds over the city, and he felt his spirits rise. He walked on toward the sand dunes in the distance, beginning, like his daughter, to feel exhilarated by the turbulent weather. “I think the women on both sides of our family are stronger than the males.”
“Dad, you shouldn't do yourself down either.” Sara gave her father another glance through lowered eyelashes. “I know how much you've come through ... and none of it was your fault. I've been thinking that maybe you and I could help each other.”
Clark leaned back to get a clearer view of his daughter. “You think I need help?” His eyebrows knitted together in a grimace, but he quickly added, “No, don't answer that ... I can do with all the support I can get. Like you, I'm not handling the fluctuating powers very well. I mean, I've been here before ... it's why your mother thought I could give you advice, but to be honest, I'm struggling myself.”
“Dad, that's stupid!” Sara said with a derisive shake of her head. “My powers are coming and going randomly, but it seems to me that you're able to tap into your strength when you need it most ...”
Suddenly, Clark froze, and not due to the chilly weather. “Sara ...” The certainty on his daughter's face reached him as a flicker of knowledge flared deep in his soul. “You think that in an emergency I can channel the superpowers?”
“Yes, Dad. Isn't that what has been happening? It's due to adrenaline ... or something.” Sara patted her father's hand and together they strolled onward, she leaning into his side, giving and receiving support. “I've read that it can happen to ordinary people when they're desperate ... like a mother trying to save her child from a burning car ... so why shouldn't it happen to you? But you've got more strength to tap into than most people. You've got to admit that it makes sense.”
This time, Clark's laugh rang out into the wind loudly and sincerely. “You know, it's a true saying ... from the mouth of babes ...”
Sara jabbed her father in the ribs. “Hey, I'm fourteen years old ... almost fifteen. I am not a baby!”
With another laugh, Clark rubbed his side where Sara's elbow had connected. “OK, I agree, but could you please warn me when you're about to hit me, so we can coordinate our use of the powers.” He winked at her. “Oh, and try to remember that my invulnerability is one of the things that isn't back to super yet.”
Sara's face fell. “I'm sorry. See, that's what I'm worried about. I don't know my own strength!”
Clark swung his daughter around again, tilting her chin up with his gloved hand. “Sara, I was only teasing. That was a normal dig and you didn't hurt me. I promise.” He bent forward and placed a light kiss on her cheek, eliciting a smile.
From out of the darkening sky, Clark felt the first telltale raindrops hit his face, and he pulled his collar up. “So we're agreed we're going to support each other every way we can, but now do you think we could get back to the car and find a nice, warm restaurant. I don't know about you, but my seesawing powers make me hungry, and there isn't enough sun around to recharge our solar batteries. Would you allow me to take you out to dinner, my dear?” he asked, bowing with a flourish.
Sara's lighthearted laugh trilled out as she pulled her hat back over her windswept curls. “I'd be delighted, sir!” she replied coquettishly, giving Clark a glimpse of what he had to face in the years to come. She'd knock dead any young male with a pulse ... and that was without the use of her superpowers.
Lois' and Clark's lives as parents promised to be pretty interesting in the future.
Yet, he felt very comfortable with this particular role. Being a father was one of the best jobs in the world -- right up there with being a husband to Lois Lane.
****
To Be Continued ...
